UK customs charges

[dvdjunkie]

Can someone please clarify the customs charges as the government site isn't very clear. It's like mud basically.

The situation is I have been buying steelbooks from other countries but to avoid any custom charges etc I have been ordering them 1 by one to avoid any threshold (I have no idea what that might be mind)

I'm now starting to think that if I am buying from another EU country (I'm in UK) I would not incur any fees.

Anyone know?

I'll be cheesed off if it turns out I could have ordered all of them at the same time. :s Talk about extra expense I was trying to avoid!

Any help will be great.

Cheers in advance.

Mikey

 

[Flip]

there is no custom charges when buying from another eu country as you are paying vat already, when buying from canada ,america , asia there is a customs charge of 23% of the total value including delivery costs, these are the charges in ireland the uk is quite similar , so if you are ordering from amazon germany,france,spain or italy order as much as you want you will not be charged anymore than you pay at checkout p.s amazon.de charges a flat rate of €7 for delivery so it makes sense to order more than 1 at a time

 

[dvdjunkie]

there is no custom charges when buying from another eu country as you are paying vat already, when buying from canada ,america , asia there is a customs charge of 23% of the total value including delivery costs, these are the charges in ireland the uk is quite similar , so if you are ordering from amazon germany,france,spain or italy order as much as you want you will not be charged anymore than you pay at checkout p.s amazon.de charges a flat rate of €7 for delivery so it makes sense to order more than 1 at a time

Argh! I wish I had known that before as I recently ordered 6 separate items from there! typical! Lol.

So the charges from non EU come into force when the total equals how much?

 

[Flip]

Argh! I wish I had known that before as I recently ordered 6 separate items from there! typical! Lol.

So the charges from non EU come into force when the total equals how much?

im not too sure about the uk , but i think you will have to pay import VAT on goods with a value that exceeds £15 im only guessing but i think its between 21%-25% of the value including postage


Customs Duty is waived if the amount of duty calculated is £9 or under.

 

[ferrari100]

Anything over £15 is subject to 20% customs charges. This includes the amount for express delivery, ems etc. Regular delivery is not included in the customs value. If the item is declared as a gift then the amount increases from £15 to £40.
Also take into consideration a whopping additional £13.50 handling fee by the royal mail.
For this reason i recomend regular mail in some circumstances although it might take a little longer. I got stung recently for £23.50 because my items from asia totalled £38(marked as gift) but ems shipping took it to £48.
13.50 handling fee and 10.00 customs.
So i should of had it sent regular to save this from happening!
Hope this helps.

 

[dvdjunkie]

Is this for EU to EU countries as well as I've just ordered 2 items totalling €39. :$

 

[Flip]

Is this for EU to EU countries as well as I've just ordered 2 items totalling €39. :$

no it only comes into affect when buying from outside the eu, so you wont be charged

 

[ferrari100]

EU to EU incurrs no charges at all. One benefit of being in the EU. In fact, its the only benefit imo. But thats another story.

 

[dvdjunkie]

Thanks for your help guys.

I was getting fed up of the mixed info so I called them myself and enquired.

Basically I was told the following.

* EU to EU is just like shopping in the UK providing the VAT is done at the point of sale and no additional fees are involved as it is not seen as a customs issue. There is no limit to the orders you place (wish I had known this sooner).

* Non-Eu to EU - if the items are not taxed they would incur a charge of 20% of the item if the total (including P&P!!!) totals over £15!
This then applies to totals under £135. If the total exceeds this there are additional charges involved - excise charges as well as VAT etc.

Hope that helps some of you.

I really wish I had known sooner as I bought 6 German Disney steelbooks and paid for each separately to avoid what I thought would be taxed goods! That's cost me €30 more than I would have liked had I known! Doh!

 

[Jarman]

Thanks for your help guys.

I was getting fed up of the mixed info so I called them myself and enquired.

Basically I was told the following.

* EU to EU is just like shopping in the UK providing the VAT is done at the point of sale and no additional fees are involved as it is not seen as a customs issue. There is no limit to the orders you place (wish I had known this sooner).

* Non-Eu to EU - if the items are not taxed they would incur a charge of 20% of the item if the total (including P&P!!!) totals over £15!
This then applies to totals under £135. If the total exceeds this there are additional charges involved - excise charges as well as VAT etc.

Hope that helps some of you.

I really wish I had known sooner as I bought 6 German Disney steelbooks and paid for each separately to avoid what I thought would be taxed goods! That's cost me €30 more than I would have liked had I known! Doh!

Any idea of whether custom would have to paid even if the item is marked as a gift from a non-EU country?

 

[o0 Deuce 0o]

Any idea of whether custom would have to paid even if the item is marked as a gift from a non-EU country?

marking the item as a gift does not mean anything unless you get the item marked down below £15.00, some people think you can mark the items at any value and the marking as a gift protects you but it dont lol.

 

[SYKES]

dvdjunkie is correct. If buying from outside EU you get charged import VAT @ 20% and a handling charge from the postal carrier in the UK, Royal Mail charge £8 (other carriers can charge more): then after all that there is custom charges if the item is over £135.

Link to HMRC
http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channels...Travel_ShowContent&id=HMCE_CL_000014#P21_1913

 

[Pieter V]

marking the item as a gift does not mean anything unless you get the item marked down below £15.00, some people think you can mark the items at any value and the marking as a gift protects you but it dont lol.

In most countries when packages are marked as gift, they may have a higher amount to import items without paying fees. Not unlimited of course.

 

[dvdjunkie]

Any idea of whether custom would have to paid even if the item is marked as a gift from a non-EU country?

Yea I was told marking it as a gift doesn't prevent any such charges. If it's under £15 it should be fine but I was informed the total cost included P&P which is shocking to say the least.

 

[sunnyx]

Yea I was told marking it as a gift doesn't prevent any such charges. If it's under £15 it should be fine but I was informed the total cost included P&P which is shocking to say the least.

You can mark it as a Gift for £40 and you would not receive custom charges. If you don't mark it as a gift then it is £15 value you will have to mark.

So if you have a big package coming, it is not wise to mark £15 gift. It be better to mark it as £35 - £40 as gift otherwise your package may be held up for X-Rays and further checks due to suspicion.

 

[pjking]

Yeah UK custom charges suck balls. The threshold should be 100 quid minimum

 

[jamesjmorton]

£15 is a joke. It was a struggle when it used to £18.

And Royal Mail are blatant criminals.
Charging £8 and *you* still have to go to the local depot to hand over the ransom. They don't deliver anymore as a kind Postman would sometimes waive the fee if he couldnt be arsed waiting for you to answer the door.